Moving a broody hen????

[TAMMACLEAN]

I have a little cochin that has gone broody. She is sitting on 6 eggs, some hers and some belong to my sebright. My question is when should I move her? Her eggs are suppose to start hatching on Monday the 17th of this month. Right now her nest is up off the ground about a foot and I would like to put her on the ground. The other problem is the other chickens and roosters. I have another coop that has some 5 week old cochins in it that I'd like to move her to but I'm afraid she will either stop sitting on her eggs or the other cochins will pick on the new babies. I had thought about putting her in the bottom of a dog create then putting her in my greenhouse but I'm afraid that it might be to warm for her. There are windows for air but still.

My biggest question is when should I move her? I just don't want the babies to fall and get hurt. Also does anyone know if cochins and sebrights hatch early??

 

[Wayne&Kim1963]

Right now I wouldn't move her until she hatches. She could get angry get the eggs cold and ruin them. The babies are fine for at least 12 hours after she hatches up high. If everyone isn't hatcing at same time I may put some eggs in incubator to hatch little later if needed and go ahead and move her then. She will move where you put her babies. Then for 3 days you can give her any baby chicken that looks kinda like hers that hatches or you buy and she will take them. I usually add new ones at night. Alot of times for their benefit so they get to know they have momma and leave them in smaller pen so they can't run from her. The babies that hatch from eggs if you have to incubate them will recognize the momma. They must hear her and know they have momma. If they had never seen momma hen and not eggs she sat on they can be little afraid of her at times. But I never like give them ducks when they have chickens or turkeys when they have chickens already they usually will peck ducks. Same goes other way too. If momma hatches ducks she won't take baby chickens either most of time. A momma hen will raise ducks and turkeys and stuff but only when they set on eggs, is funny but that is how it works usually.

Cochins and seabrights hatch at 21 days

 

[Ridgerunner]

I've seen broody hens get newly hatched chicks out of a 10 feet high hay loft. Mama says jump and they do. After they land, they run to her. Pardon me if I don't get all freaked out at the thought of them being a whole one foot off the ground. I know I'm being sarcastic and unkind, but I really think you are worrying over nothing.

I'll add this though. If your nest has a normal lip to hold the eggs and bedding in, there is extremely little chance of a chick falling out before Mama tells them to leave the nest. But if your nest does not have a reasonable lip on it, it is possible a chick could fall out. Not a high risk, but a risk. Unless you have had problems with eggs and bedding coming out, this is probably not a concern. But I am trying to deal with real life and some people have nests with no lip. Those baby chicks are extremely agile. They could probably get back in a nest 12" off the ground after they get a few hours age on them. But if it makes feel better, you can put a step that reduces that 12" to 6" or so. A paver, cinder block, something like that. Maybe just pile the bedding a little high right there if the other chickens won't scratch it back flat.

The target date for all chicken eggs is that they should hatch after 21 days of development. But that is just a target. In real life they can be a few days early or late. My last broody hatched 11 out of 11 and all of them were about two full days early. These were full-sized fowl from normal sized eggs. There are a whole lot of different things that can affect how early or late they hatch, even under a broody.

I'm guessing your Cochin is a bantam. Small eggs have a tendency to hatch a little earlier than larger eggs, but that is just a tendency. If you have thousands of eggs hatching, you might notice that. But with just a few hatching, I would not expect them hatching early to be a real high probability. They can be either early or late.

Chickens have been hatching with the flock for thousands of years. They are living animals and anything can happen, but they have been hatching with the flock for thousands of years. Mine hatch with the flock and I don't have problems. I won't lie to you and say you absolutely will not have problems. Sometimes people do, usually with the hens, not the rooster. But from my experience, the worry about something bad happening gets blown way out of proportion on this forum.

Heat is a real danger to chickens of all ages. Will that dog crate fit in your coop instead of in your greenhouse?

When a broody hatches, I normally wait until she decides to bring them off the nest, then put the broody and chicks in a specially prepared place for a couple of days just so the chicks learn to eat and drink without interference from the older hens. Many people don’t take that step to isolate them but just let them go. That’s just me being over-cautious. Then I open it up and let her raise them with the flock.

I would not move her yet. I would not take the chance of her rejecting the eggs and new nest. Wait until after the hatch and move them if you feel you must. I really think your odds of success are much greater if you do not move her.

Good luck!!!

 

[TAMMACLEAN]

I've seen broody hens get newly hatched chicks out of a 10 feet high hay loft. Mama says jump and they do. After they land, they run to her. Pardon me if I don't get all freaked out at the thought of them being a whole one foot off the ground. I know I'm being sarcastic and unkind, but I really think you are worrying over nothing.
I'll add this though. If your nest has a normal lip to hold the eggs and bedding in, there is extremely little chance of a chick falling out before Mama tells them to leave the nest. But if your nest does not have a reasonable lip on it, it is possible a chick could fall out. Not a high risk, but a risk. Unless you have had problems with eggs and bedding coming out, this is probably not a concern. But I am trying to deal with real life and some people have nests with no lip. Those baby chicks are extremely agile. They could probably get back in a nest 12" off the ground after they get a few hours age on them. But if it makes feel better, you can put a step that reduces that 12" to 6" or so. A paver, cinder block, something like that. Maybe just pile the bedding a little high right there if the other chickens won't scratch it back flat.
The target date for all chicken eggs is that they should hatch after 21 days of development. But that is just a target. In real life they can be a few days early or late. My last broody hatched 11 out of 11 and all of them were about two full days early. These were full-sized fowl from normal sized eggs. There are a whole lot of different things that can affect how early or late they hatch, even under a broody.
I'm guessing your Cochin is a bantam. Small eggs have a tendency to hatch a little earlier than larger eggs, but that is just a tendency. If you have thousands of eggs hatching, you might notice that. But with just a few hatching, I would not expect them hatching early to be a real high probability. They can be either early or late.
Chickens have been hatching with the flock for thousands of years. They are living animals and anything can happen, but they have been hatching with the flock for thousands of years. Mine hatch with the flock and I don't have problems. I won't lie to you and say you absolutely will not have problems. Sometimes people do, usually with the hens, not the rooster. But from my experience, the worry about something bad happening gets blown way out of proportion on this forum.
Heat is a real danger to chickens of all ages. Will that dog crate fit in your coop instead of in your greenhouse?
When a broody hatches, I normally wait until she decides to bring them off the nest, then put the broody and chicks in a specially prepared place for a couple of days just so the chicks learn to eat and drink without interference from the older hens. Many people don’t take that step to isolate them but just let them go. That’s just me being over-cautious. Then I open it up and let her raise them with the flock.
I would not move her yet. I would not take the chance of her rejecting the eggs and new nest. Wait until after the hatch and move them if you feel you must. I really think your odds of success are much greater if you do not move her.
Good luck!!

Thanks!!!

She is just my first broody hen so I don't want to mess anything up. Daisy has been such a good momma already that I'm sure she knows what she's doing.

I have a place in the coop that I can fence off for her and the babies once they are ready.

I just can't wait to see what hatches!!!

 

[TAMMACLEAN]

So today is suppose to be hatch day but so far nothing. Little Daisy jumped off her nest this morning for a little outside time and I found a brown egg in her nest. Someone else had laid that this morning. And sadly I also found a baby that has been stepped on before it had a chance to hatch. Daisy was still sitting on it, but it wasn't alive. I'm guessing that one of the bigger chickens stepped on it and broke the shell. It was a little cochin too.

So I put her in a cat carrier on the floor of the coop and I go to check on her later and her friend, a little sebright named Tala, was on the eggs and Daisy was sitting in a nesting box! I am really thinking I need to move her. I'm just worried that the eggs will just get cold cause Daisy won't go back and sit on them....